Los Altos Market Conditions December 2014
- Inventory at historical low
- Price indicators slip
- Pending sales fall
I don’t think inventory has ever been this low (three homes) in Los Altos. It certainly hasn’t been close in the past ten years. The surprising thing is that sales haven’t fallen further. That just says that whatever comes on the market is selling.
November’s median sales price was $2,475,000, down 2% or $56,500 from $2,531,500 in November but 12.5% ($275,000) higher than December 2013’s $2.2 million. The average price per square foot fell from $1,209 in November to $1,136 in December (a 6% decline). One year ago, the average price per square foot was $1,056. Homes sold from 106% of their list price, on average, in December, down from 110% in November and 113% in December 2013.
18 sales closed in December, four more than November’s 14 and one less than December 2013’s 19.
Active listings fell to nearly nothing, with only three at the end of December, about a third of November’s 11 and about half December 2013’s seven. 14 sales went to contract in December, down three from November’s 17. December had the second fewest sales of the year. Only January, with 13, had less. A year ago, only nine sales went to contract. Less than a week of inventory relative to pending sales was available at the end of December, down from more than two weeks at the end of November and three weeks a year ago.
Homes were on the market an average of 24 days in December, up from 13 days in November but less than the 33 days homes were listed in December 2013.
Analysis by Price Range
One property priced under $2 million was on the market at the end of December, the fewest since December 2013. Three homes were actively listed in this segment at the end of November. Seven sales went to contract in December, up from four in November and five a year ago. Inventory relative to pending sales fell from 0.75 months at the end of November to 0.1 month at the end of December. This segment accounted for a third of Los Altos’ inventory and 50% of its pending sales.
No properties were on the market in the $2 million to $2,999,999 price range at the end of December, compared to two at the end of November and three a year ago. Four sales went pending in December, down from seven in November but two more than in December 2013. December’s four sales were 29% of Los Alto’s total.
With two homes available, the $3 million-plus category made up two thirds of Los Alto’s inventory at the end of December, even though that meant only two homes were on the market. That was four less than November’s six and one less than a year ago. Pending sales were cut in half to three in December. No sales went to contract in this segment a year ago. A 0.7 month supply was on the market at the end of December, versus one month at the end of November.
